Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
Thomas Edward Bell was the youngest of 6 siblings, 3 sons and 3 daughters. His father Charles Bell and mother Isabella Holmes were married at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland where they were born in 1855 and 1864 respectively. Over the next 10 years Isabella gave birth to all 6 children, Isabella, March 5th 1885, Lilly Ann 1887, John Duxfield 1888, Charles William 1889, Harriet, March 8th 1891 whilst they were living at 5, Argyle Place, All Saints, Newcastle, where Charles supported his family employed as an engine fitter and Thomas Edward in 1895, baptised January 24th at Christ Church, Shieldfield, Newcastle. By 1901 they had moved to the suburbs of Newcastle at 40, Ramshaw Street, Elswick, unfortunately in 1904 Isabella Bell nee Holmes died aged only 39 years. Only 3 of Charles Snr’s children were still living at home in 1911 which consisted of 3 rooms at 20, Beaumont Street. He continued to be employed as an engine fitter, Charles William (21) was a clerk at Armstrong Whitworth’s ordinance works at Elswick, Thomas Edward (16) had been a laundry messenger, now unemployed, Harriet Bell (20) who had married in 1910 to George Henry Knott was also living in the household with her new husband and their 4-month old son Charles Ratcliffe Knott.
August 1914 Britain declared war with Germany, Thomas Edward Bell enlisted at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, assigned as Private 7698 Yorkshire Regiment, later 203108. Posted to the 4th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment of the Territorial Force along with all T.F. soldiers as of 1916 he was eligible for service overseas. The 4th Battalion had arrived at the front, April 18th 1915, landing at Boulogne then making its way to the Ypres salient in Belgian. Private Bell joined his regiment in the field on the salient until their return to France as part of the 150th Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division seeing action on the Somme during the battles at Flers-Courcelette, September 15th-22nd, Morval, September 25th-28th 1916. In 1917 they moved to the Arras sector participating during the Arras Offensive, April 9th-May 16th 1917.
Private 203108 Thomas Edward Bell Yorkshire Regiment was reported as missing and is deemed to have died April 23rd 1917. His sacrifice is recorded as one of 34,818 names inscribed on the Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais, France, within Faubourg D’Amiens Cemetery, commemorating the 34,818 servicemen from Britain, South Africa and New Zealand who fell in the sector during the Battle of Arras who have no known grave.
Private Bell was 22 years of age and single. His death compounded the family’s grief having received news only 5 months earlier that his elder brother John Duxfield Bell serving with the Northumberland Fusiliers had been killed, November 25th 1916 and is at rest within Faubourg D’Amiens Cemetery, grave I. J. 27. Their brother Charles William Bell trained with the Machine Gun Corps but did not serve overseas.
Charles Bell Snr may have died in 1938
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
Thomas Edward Bell is remembered at Elswick on E35.10
